Review and photos by OkapiBoy
Before we leave Mainland Asia, I wanted to make one last detour and check out some of the largest and mightiest rivers in India and Asia.The Ganges, Indus, Yangtze, and Mekong are just some of the largest river systems that flows and crisscross the continent.Here, one would encounter one of the unlikeliest animal swimming around: dolphins.
Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
A truly awesome beast, the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of all extant flesh-eating animals, the second deepest diving mammal, the scourge of squid, and the inspiration behind Moby-Dick. Its unusual name is derived from the fact that its head contains a waxy substance called spermaceti, which was originally mistaken for the whale’s seminal fluid!
Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Between its knobbly head, its enormous flippers, and, of course, its noticeably humped back, the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is quite unmistakable. I fondly remember seeing an entire pod of humpbacks on a whale watching trip with my family off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, way back when I was only four or five years old.
Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is the biggest whale, the biggest mammal, and the biggest animal of all time, hands down. A mature adult can measure roughly the same size and length as three school buses parked end to end.
Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Biggest of all rays, the magnificent manta ray is an imposing but gentle giant that feeds only on zooplankton. What you may not be aware of is that there are currently two recognized species: the giant oceanic manta ray (Mobula birostris) and the smaller reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi).
Review and photos by OkapiBoy
Last time we explored the high Tibetan country and met one of its unique and charismatic inhabitant.Today, we travel down south of mainland Asia and head west towards the coast, leaving behind the harsh landscape.For my next review, I have decided to continue with the Asian theme and spotlight another animal from Asia.If you look at the map of mainland Asia, you will see a stretch of mountains that run north to south like a spine that divides the interior and the coast.
Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Of the 350 or so extant species of shark, none are more distinctive and immediately recognizable than a hammerhead. But there are in fact nine recognized species of hammerhead, ranging from the adorable little bonnethead (Sphyrna tiburo) to the massive great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran).
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The most famous, most popular, and most feared shark of them all is unquestionably the great white (Carcharodon carcharias). It has appeared in more films, documentaries, books, comics, cartoons, games, and toy lines than any other shark, and probably any other sea creature for that matter.
Review and Photos by OkapiBoy
Choosing a figure for my very first review for the blog proved to be difficult. For my first review, I wanted a figure that was both unique, obscure, and reflect my interest. After much deliberation, I decided on this figure, CollectA’s chiru or more commonly knows as the Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsoni).
Editor’s note: Time for brontodocus’ next contribution. This time, it is the European stag beetle, Lucanus cervus, by CollectA for their Insects line (which is now called Little Wonders, as it contains several non-arthropods such as reptiles and amphibians). Below is a copy of the original walkaround, which was posted shortly after the figure was released back in 2015.
‘Civet’ is a term used to refer to various small-to-medium sized, generally omnivorous feliform carnivorans, most of which are members the family Viverridae. One of the larger species encompassed by this grouping is the sub-Saharan African Civettictis civetta, otherwise known as the African civet. This is perhaps the most well-known species of civet amongst the general public, as civet musk is collected for perfume from this species more often than other species.
I wanted to introduce the first mammal to the Animal Toy Blog, so I used a Random Number Generator in conjunction with my Excel file database and here we have the red river hog, Potamochoerus porcus (Linnaeus, 1758) by CollectA. The figure was released in 2012 as part of their Wild Life line.
